A Tragedy of Errors

The decommissioning of the Provisional IRA in 2005 suggests that Northern Ireland may finally be ready to turn from the deadly paramilitary clashes of the twentieth century to the thorny problems of a normalized political process. As both former head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service and Victim’s Commissioner, Sir Kenneth Bloomfield is in a unique position to evaluate the wisdom and long-term effects of the past fifty years of Northern Irish politics and policy.
Bloomfield probes a number of crucial questions about the United Kingdom’s management of Irish affairs. Three decades of fighting have had grave consequences for Northern Ireland—what were the costs? Was violence inevitable? Bloomfield delineates the unwise decisions and abrogated responsibilities that led to the civil crisis of the Troubles while emphasizing the United Kingdom’s overriding duty to ensure peace. Peppered with incisive—and critical—portraits of the major political players, including Tony Blair and John Hume, A Tragedy of Errors gives us an unflinching insider’s view of Northern Irish politics and helps us understand the divisions that still dominate the region.